A variety of information is conventionally obtainable across national boundaries. Especially recently, a user can easily obtain information, such as an HTML document, by employing a client on a network, the Internet, for example, to access a server. The user can then display and browse the HTML document by employing a WWW browser application (hereinafter referred to simply as a browser) executed by the client. However, frequently the text in an HTML document, which may also contain images, is in English or a local, information source language the user can not read. The user must then employ a machine to translate the text into his or her native language and must read the translation to acquire the information in the document.
This translation process can be implemented by executing a translation program installed in the computer of the user, or by using a translation service provided by a predetermined server connected to the Internet. For the translation process performed by the server, for example, the client transmits the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a web page to be translated across the Internet to a predetermined server. The server then obtains the HTML document for the URL and translates the text. The obtained translation results are displayed, as is the web page in the pre-translation state indicated for the original URL, i.e., the translated web page text and included images are displayed. As is described above, for the translation process for which the server is used, a special program, such as translation software, is not needed for the client employed by the user, and the translation of the web page can be easily obtained.
However, since a predetermined length of time is required for the translation process, the user must wait a specific time period before he or she can obtain the translation results. For the translation of a web page, for example, a user must wait a comparatively long period of time before an HTML document, which is the result of the translation, is displayed in web page form on the client's browser. When image data, such as photos, charts and pictures, is included in the web page, waiting time is even greater.